Isa Mazzocchi

Training at Carlo Porta hotel school and Tourism and Hospitality in Salsomaggiore Terme gave Isa Mazzocchi the structure a professional kitchen demands. That schooling established discipline, technical rigor, and composure, all of which later became part of her working method. Since 1987, she has served as chef of La Palta, a long tenure that points to continuity and accumulation rather than turnover. Over that span, Piacentine cuisine has remained the frame of her work, and repeated attention has allowed familiar references to be refined into a style that is both personal and durable.

Mazzocchi is chef at La Palta in Borgonovo Val Tidone. Her work is rooted in Piacentine cuisine. Those facts describe a kitchen built on regional memory, on the discipline of keeping an identity intact, and on the ability to bring that identity forward without flattening it. At La Palta, the cooking comes from place rather than from novelty. Mazzocchi works with the authority of long practice, drawing on the flavors and traditions that define her corner of Emilia-Romagna. The result is cooking that reads as anchored, precise, and unmistakably local.

Isa's signature dishes include Pastìss and Raviolo di ravioli in 6 stagionature di Parmigiano Reggiano. These dishes show how detail carries a regional idea: in texture, in balance, and in the handling of a familiar reference. Pastìss points to a dish that carries memory and character, while Raviolo di ravioli in 6 stagionature di Parmigiano Reggiano shows attention to layering and to the depth of aged cheese. Taken together, they place precision at the center of the Piacentine table.

Isa's honors include Female Chef of the Year (2021) and Chef Donna (2021). In that year, those recognitions marked the weight of her work and the consistency of her voice as a chef. They point to a career built on persistence, identity, and sustained commitment to La Palta in Borgonovo Val Tidone.